swarm
part of speech
noun (a swarm, swarms); verb (swarm, swarms, swarmed, swarming)
meaning for a pupil
1) A swarm is a big group of insects, such as bees, wasps or locusts, flying together. tree →
2) A swarm of people is a large crowd moving together. tree →
3) To swarm is to move in a large, busy group: bees swarmed around the hive. tree →
4) A place swarming with something is full of it: the beach was swarming with tourists. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons, bees swarm when a new queen leaves with part of the colony; locust swarms eat crops. In safety lessons, keep still and walk away from a swarm of bees or wasps. In stories, crowds swarm into a place. Phrases: a swarm of bees, swarm around, swarming with.
examples
- A swarm of bees flew out of the tree. tree →
- Locust swarms can eat a whole field of crops. tree →
- Fans swarmed onto the pitch after the match. tree →
- The park was swarming with children. tree →
- If you see a swarm of wasps, walk away calmly. tree →
- Flies swarmed around the bin. tree →
- A swarm can hold thousands of bees. tree →
- A swarm of hungry blood-sucking flies settled upon him. tree →
note
«A swarm of bees» takes a singular or plural verb: «a swarm of bees was/were buzzing». «Swarm with» means «be full of». Similar group words: a flock of birds, a herd of cows, a school of fish, a swarm of insects.
In the corpora
- Desert locusts are grasshoppers that, when crowded, change colour and behaviour and form swarms of billions that eat crops.
- In summer the tundra has huge swarms of mosquitoes, so thick that caribou run to windy hills or snow patches to escape them.
- A big locust swarm can eat as much food in a day as millions of people.
- And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; swarm in the earth, and multiply therein.'
- All winged swarming things that go upon all fours are a detestable thing unto you.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «swarm» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.